Trevor Booker is happy with the Brooklyn Nets. He said as much recently in an interview with a local hometown paper from his native South Carolina. Does that mean the big man will stick with the Nets long term?
On July 20th 2017 the NBA world was introduced to the newest members of the Brooklyn Nets franchise. Many shrugged their shoulders, while others would laugh giddily once names were announced. Not to take anything away from these players then or now, but why wouldn’t they?
They weren’t introducing another star. They didn’t have future hall of famers being pleasantly surprised by the owner. These guys, with the exception of Jeremy Lin and Randy Foye, were nobodies. Not unless one had played for your team would you had known who he was. Even then you would have had to know every single player on the roster.
Fast forward almost a year later and introduce those same players again. You will get a different response. Sean Marks had a plan since day one. He knew what free agents he liked, and which ones would best help implement the culture he was trying to develop.
When identifying players Sean Marks wanted to bring in, one of his first phone calls was to one of his own former team mates Trevor Booker. They had actually played side by side on the Washington Wizards in the 2010-11 preseason. Sean Marks at that time was senior to a rookie just coming out of Clemson University after a four year stay.
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In an article posted last October, Trevor Booker explains what it takes to change and build a culture on any team. That even though the losses pile up, the morale should still remain high. The team should still stick together.
"“I’ve been on a lot of different teams – winning teams and terrible teams. When I first started with the Wizards, we were the laughing-stock of the league. I was there through the thick and thin, and I finally saw them make the playoffs my final year there and got to be a part of that. In Utah last year, we had a great, young team and missed the playoffs by just a couple games. So I’ve been through it in the NBA. I can come here and share those stories with the young guys when we hit that adversity in the season. Not just as a team, but as an individual, you’re going to take your lumps. The younger players will need somebody to step up and be there for them during the season, and I think I can be that guy.”"
He has done that and much more, he has been the hustle, the heart and set the example to the younger guys exactly how the game should be played. From every energetic fist pump after one of his breakaway slams, to jumping around on the bench showing his support for the guys on the court. He has been that guy.
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Recently, he had sat down for an interview with a newspaper in his hometown of South Carolina to talk about how pleased he is to be a member of this franchise, even more so to be a member of this team.
"“When I was in Utah, it was pretty much the same thing, so it wasn’t anything new for me, And I had fun teaching the younger guys the ropes – guys like Isaiah Whitehead and Caris LeVert, showing them different things they’d have to get used to.”"
Booker has $9.1 million dollar deal that will expire at the end of next season. For someone that is in the top 15 PER chart, he can definitely get a bigger contract elsewhere. He posted career highs in points (10.0), rebounds (8.0) and assists (1.9), opposed to 5.9 PPG and 5.7 rebounds in his last year in Utah.
Another direction that the Nets can go if Booker does in fact decide to leave his new found happy home is the draft. With two draft picks in this years loaded draft, you can take a chance on drafting someone who they feel can bring the intangibles that Trevor does. The only problem is, that cannot be taught.
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You can draft some one who has a silky soft touch from three, or whose athleticism is through the roof. What they lack, the coaching staff can fix or create. What the coaching staff can’t fix is character. The heart that Trevor Booker has cannot be taught by a coaching staff. He strives to be the best player he can be on the court; but to be the best off the court too.
In this day and age, those are getting harder to find.